Didn't know where to post this...Hopefully nobody will be too mad.
I just purchased the Epic 60/500 7.1 system with a yamaha V2600 reciever. The trouble I'm now having is getting a good universal player. I'm leaning towards the Yamaha C950, but I could go with something less expensive if DVD upconversion isn't all that significant. Can anyone give some advice on this? I currently have a cheap sony HTIB set up to my 52' toshiba DLP and DVD's for the most part look pretty lousy. Will the Yamaha C950 give me some WOW on the video side of things? Needless to say, I am a newb to HT. Will these big dollar DVD players provide a significant step up in quality as the price would suggest?
I'm suprised things look lousy? Normally if you have a progressive scan DVD player set to 480P mode, things should look nice compared to 480i (interlaced). Or if your TV has a built in line doubler, it should improve the 480i signal.
An upconverting DVD player can give you a better picture over 480p players in my opinion, if you get one with a decent scaler. Also, your TV has to be able to display 720p or 1080i. Prior to me building a HTPC, I used a Panasonic S97S upconverting DVD player with my Sanyo Z2 projector, the picture was a lot better than 480p. Not that I use a HTPC, it is even better than the Panny, as my computers video card's resolution is matched 1:1 to my Sanyo.
Most likely, you will also have to have either DVI or HDMI hookups, as most upconverting players won't upconvert using Component.
Yes my TV does have HDMI inputs and I've already purchased a few HDMI cables from Blue Jeans and Acoustic Research. I am aware that the V2600 upcales images to 1080i but I hear that it does not do it as well as the c950 DVD player. And I want a universal player anyway.
Another question, what will the upconversion do for my 4;3 DVD's? Will the ratio remain the same? Will it expand the image and make it look stretched? If anybody can go into detail on this, it would be extremely helpful. I can't seem to find forum discussions of this topic through google.
I don't have to many 1.33 (4:3) DVD's anyway, but am pretty sure an upscaling player will also improve the picture, however, you will still have bars on the sides, if your using a 16:9 television.
Drew, note that your Toshiba deinterlaces and upscales DVD material if a player or receiver hasn't already done it. There's no certain way of knowing beforehand which of the three units(if any)would do a visibly better job.
As to the 4:3 ratio, deinterlacing or upscaling doesn't change the picture proportions in any way. Presumably your Toshiba has a provision for "stretching" 4:3 material, which may or may not look acceptable to you.
Just get the Toshiba HD DVD and dont look back, it does a great with up-conversion to.
I'm surprised more people haven't commented on this.
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I currently have a cheap sony HTIB set up to my 52' toshiba DLP and DVD's for the most part look pretty lousy.
What looks lousy, colors, brightness, noise, focus? Have you ever done the convergence on your tv or ran a set up disc to calibrate your settings? Are you comparing to another source? Regular TV, HDTV or a friends set up?
See my sig. I have the XA1 its the higher priced Toshiba(more options),I swear its the best thing Ive got since my Axioms. The newest firmware has made Dolby TrueHD active.Words cant come close to how good movies sound,Batman Begins comes out next week in HDDVD and has Dolby TrueHD I cant wait!!!! Some people have been able to pick this one up early and everyone so far is blow away by the picture and sound.Toshiba has worked out most of the problems in a timely fashion,I think there on the 4 update to firmware. I have never had one problem and I got mine when the first came out.The Xbox360 addon will be ok but they dont have HDMI(I think)only component.You can pickup the A1 for under $400 now and movies are coming out left and right,The Matrix Trilogy is rumored to be released before Xmas.
If the DVD's look grainy then you may have your brightness or contrast (I think) too high. Pull out a THX disc like Star Wars and it will have a section to help guide you to decent settings. Each disc is slightly different but it's a start.
If you haven't touched your tv settings since you bought it, it is most likely not ideal. I will also mention what I did last post which is to ensure you do the convergence on your set. When a buddy of mine bought his first set he was just thrilled to have it. When we watched hockey there was blue halos on the ice. A couple minutes in the menu and solved, looked much better.